Locomotion : Hygiene in your car (2)
Last week’s piece must have resonated strongly with a lot of readers, some of whom sent emails and Facebook messages to contribute to and ask questions on the subject of hygiene in our cars.
The feedback was so emphatic that I feel compelled to delve further into the subject today as well as reproduce some of the more interesting examples that readers shared with me.
Real life examples
First the horror stories. Three readers expressed concern about hygiene in shared commercial vehicles like trotros, taxis and long distance buses.
They recounted instances in which they had to endure assault on their noses in the form of bad body odour from other passengers as well as alcoholic “fuse” from drunken passengers on board.
One actually described the one situation that nauseates me the most – the smell of stale, hard-boiled eggs and pepper being consumed by a fellow passenger in close proximity on a trotro.
Another reader expressed concern about onboard cargo spaces that are used for multiple purposes – like the Opel Astra caravan taxi that, in addition to regular passenger duties, transports ‘waakye’ at dawn, ‘koko’ at sunrise, fresh fish in the late afternoon, charcoal in the evening and occasionally carries a recently deceased’s remains to the mortuary as well.
There were comments on ‘trotros’ that carry passengers in the front together with assorted goods on the back seats. The noise pollution from sound systems and DVD players as well as itinerant drug pedlars and preachers of the gospel were also noted as contributing to the annoyances of public transport.
The final contributor felt strongly about nursing mothers who actually change their babies’ diapers in public, sometimes on a bus with other passengers in close proximity.
If adults carry out such personal cleanup activities behind closed doors, they ask, why is it OK for babies to carry them out in the open?
The scientific facts
Like a second home, we spend so much time in our vehicles, and it can be infected with millions of germs. For busy parents, cars are full of kids and supplies, snacks, toys, clothes and more.
Within this flurry of daily activity, however, your vehicle could also be carrying illness-causing bacteria like diarrhoea-causing E.coli, enterobacteria (from faeces) and serratia (from vomit).
Bugs linked with food poisoning, vomiting and skin infections were all discovered inside a "random" car when it was subjected to a range of tests.
During one such study, scientists analysed swabs taken from the car used by a couple and their two children and found bacillus cereus and staphylococcus bacteria inside, including on the steering wheel, gear-stick and door handles.
Staphylococcal infections are contagious and can be transmitted from person to person, leading to skin infections and food poisoning.
Bacillus cereus, a bacteria which forms spores that lie dormant until ideal conditions arise - such as warmth and a source of nutrition - can also be responsible for food poisoning, leading to severe nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
There are several areas of your vehicle interior that need special attention in order to eliminate the health threats associated with these germs.
• Car Mats. Your shoes track in an array of bacteria from the ground. These germs burrow into the fibres of the mat and can contaminate the bottom of your clothes.
Anytime you drop a lipstick or some change and feel around on the mat with your fingers, you risk contaminating yourself with these bacteria.
A safe solution is to replace carpet mats with rubber, removable car mats. These are easy to take out of your car and cleanse with soap and water.
• In between the seats. Children (and adults) can drop food in between the seats, which can burrow into your car’s cracks and crevices (think French fries, onion slices, meat pieces, etc). This dark, enclosed area becomes the perfect environment for growing bacteria.
The best means to avoiding this is to clean your car twice a month with a vacuum cleaner attachment that reaches into the cracks and crevices.
• Air conditioning vents. When humidity is high and temperatures are hot, water accumulates in the vents. This moisture allows fungi to bloom.
To manage this, you can eliminate moisture by using specially designed brushes for cleaning out the air vents. You can also kill fungi by changing your cabin air filter at least once every year.
The researchers remarked that "People would be horrified at the prospect of eating from a toilet seat; however, they ought to be aware that eating from a contaminated dashboard may represent potential exposure to the same health hazards.”
"Those who eat in their vehicle should treat it as an extension of their home and maintain the same levels of hygiene as they would in their dining room," they added.
Enough said.
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